The board

TACSRI is run by volunteers elected by the members at the annual meeting.

Pelin Kadercan

President

A native of Istanbul, Pelin Kadercan (Livia or Dr K as students know her) is a professor of history and government. She studied Modern Europe with an interest in the histories of the relations between Jews, Christians, and Muslims in a global context. Her research and teaching interests lie in the broad fields of displacement, war, human/women’s rights, education and film.

She is currently completing her book on the German and Jewish émigrés who fled Nazi Germany for Turkey. Examining the transnational encounters in music, visual arts, and humanities education, her research explores how cross-territorial forces, in the form of ideas and a real dialogue between multiple actors, conditioned the nation-building processes as a dynamic space of decision-making.

Dr. Kadercan completed her Ph.D. in History at the University of Rochester, NY. She has an M.A. degree in International Relations from the European Union Institute of Marmara University, and a B.A. from Bogazici University.

She acted as a visiting professor at Brown University, and a researcher and organizer at various institutions in the UK, Spain, and Turkey. During the 2012-2013 academic year, she acted as the Executive Director for Academic Affairs at Koc University in Istanbul.

Her experience as a higher education professional in Turkey enabled her to have a comprehensive understanding of a broad range of matters in politics and education in the region. She is interested in creative writing, photography and film. She is currently learning how to play guitar.

Alev Elçi

Vice President

Alev Elçi is a retired Associate Professor and the president of the Higher Education Professional Development Network (YÖMEGA) Association. She holds a BSc in Mathematics, an MSc in Computer Engineering, and a PhD in Educational Sciences. Her main research areas include faculty development, digital teaching and learning, technology-enhanced learning, social networks, learning communities, animation and game-based learning, internationalization, and narrative approaches.

TACS-RI has a primary focus on educating its community about Turkish and American cultures. Alev, a passionate advocate for education, has dedicated her life to advancing this cause. In line with this mission, Alev is excited to be on board.

Merve Bektaş

Secretary

Merve Bektaş was born in Ankara, Turkey in 1990 and graduated from Yeditepe University Law School in Istanbul. She has extensive knowledge of Labor, Tenancy, and Criminal Law. Merve has been working as a lawyer at the Istanbul Bar Association since 2015. In 2019, she relocated to the United States. She is married and a mother of one. Her hobbies include traveling, reading, writing about her experiences and memories, and cooking.

Erensoy

Treasurer

Onat

Director (Former President)

Şerife Uludokumaci-Hathaway

Director (Founding President)

Şerife Uludokumaci-Hathaway is the founder and first president of the Turkish American Cultural Society, which was founded on October 29, 2001.

She was born in Istanbul, then moved to Germany at the age of 15 and to Rhode Island at the age of 21. She has been here for over 50 years now.

While in Germany, she obtained a cosmetology license and went on to do her masters in hair, skin and nails here in RI. She was a member of the RI Cosmetology Association for 30 years and served in roles such as vice president, director, private class teacher and judge at the hairdresser fashion show. Aside from her love for hairdressing and cosmetology, another passion is yoga. She studied in CA and earned her certified teacher certificate.

Over the years, she was also a member of the Warwick Women’s Club, American Cancer Society, Heritage Harbor Museum project, Brown University and, last but not least, a Turkish and German film festival assistant.

Her love for cooking led her to write a Turkish cuisine book. She enjoys meeting up, connecting and celebrating holidays and our Turkish culture.

Melih Bektaş

Director (Past President)

Melih Bektaş was born in Istanbul, Turkey. He graduated from Yildiz Technical University, majoring in Mechanical Engineering, and received his MBA from Johnson & Wales in 2007.

After finishing his degree he worked at Monarch Industries as a mechanical engineer and then started his own company. He is a business owner and an investor, with a pizza restaurant and a construction company. He is also a registered contractor and specializes in deck building.

He is involved with local politics and works to engage members of the Turkish-American community with them. He served as TACS-RI President between 2019 and 2021 and has been a member of the board since 2017. He is currently the Representative of the Turkish American Steering Committee of Rhode Island, working on projects that bring communities together.